Ask HN: No / low-code tools to build an application in 2021?

12 points by jwiley 4 years ago | 19 comments

I'm interested in building an application that allows a user to sign up and login, ask to be notified about an upcoming event, and receive an email notification. It could be a web-application or phone app, depending on the easiest and fastest development process.

I'm familiar with the enterprisey way of doing this (for example spinning up a React app, cloud-infrastructure, deploy pipelines, etc etc etc) but I'd like to develop and iterate without a huge investment in time.

Are there no / low-code tools or frameworks that would allow me to built an MVP around this use-case? I'm thinking of something that could be released to the public in limited fashion, not a purely in-house prototype or mockup.

ecesena 4 years ago |

If it's a web saas, we're building Saasform [1] with your use case in mind.

One relevant example is launching your MVP as a serverless API (e.g. on Firebase) + react/vue front end. Just iterate on your core product and features, we handle home page, registration and payments.

For mobile apps I'd recommend Expo [2] and, if you can, stay with their managed flow. If you want to iterate fast, you need to take into account the time to release to the stores and Expo can help with that. Similarly as for the web, I'd look into a serverless API model to start.

For email notifications I'd go with Sendgrid.

I personally never used no-code solutions but different people recommended Bubbles [3].

[1] https://saasform.dev

[2] https://expo.io

[3] https://www.bubbles.io

jwiley 4 years ago | |

Nice targeted solution for account + login ecesena. For my usecase I was looking for a more all-inclusive solution, but like the flexibility your product offers of retaining some of the control over core development.

cnuss 4 years ago |

I recently launched "Scaffoldly" last week for just this purpose and am looking for some early adopters that would like to kick the tires.

I've built the automation to handle a bunch of the nitty grittys, API Templates & Web Portal Tempaltes, Auth API, Serverless, etc.

I'm marketing it as a "SaaS builder" but it also works great for small projects on a budget as well.

It's free and open source, so should do well for a project you're starting, and I can definitely help through any snags you may hit!

If you're interested, start here (https://scaffold.ly), let me know if you have questions here! Or join our Slack.

jwiley 4 years ago | |

Thanks for mentioning, I'll check it out when I get closer to implementation.

cnuss 4 years ago | | |

Awesome! Let me know if I can assist getting started!

foxbee 4 years ago |

I, along with a great team, have spent over a year building an open source low code platform called Budibase.

Budibase is best described as an open-source alternative to Outsystems, Retool and Mendix. The benefits include:

- self-host with Docker/Digital Ocean

- internal db

- connections to MySQL, PostgreSQL, MongoDB

- Accessible components

- The outputed tools are real, single page applications

- The apps are responsive by default

- An automation platform with connectors to Sendgrid, Zapier

- Google Auth

And it's open source!

NHS are building a patient management solution with it. Amazon are building a tool for their healthcare department, and many users build simple prototypes/internal tools on their own infrastructure.

Check it out here:

[1} https://github.com/Budibase/budibase

[2] https://www.budibase.com

jwiley 4 years ago | |

Budibase looks impressive thanks for sharing. How does scaling / load balancing work if I outgrow a single container?

jwiley 4 years ago | | |

Another question related to Budibase, how do you harden the container and handle security issues? A Google search leads me to githubs standard security overview which is empty, Sync suggests there may be some advisories associated with the container?

https://github.com/Budibase/budibase/security https://snyk.io/advisor/npm-package/@budibase/server?utm_med...

mmckeaveney 4 years ago | | |

We are currently working on a kubernetes/helm based setup for easier scaling that will be the preferred production deployment strategy for Budibase. This will be available over the coming weeks.

santa_boy 4 years ago |

My company actively does projects using Bubble for business clients. It is awesome to develop with and allows for integration to handle esoteric scenarios.

Speed is the main critique of Bubble (but, there are server packs that could be purchased to increase horsepower. I have never tried those though. Most of my current clients have business users and prioritise functionality and flexibility over breakneck speed. They are happen on the entry paid plans)

For an MVP, I would highly recommend Bubble.

Mobile Apps are not native or anything close with Bubble, but if responsive apps work, it is a great choice.

I'd be happy to chat and provide my experience.. Feel free to email me at santosh AT n0c0de.com

jwiley 4 years ago | |

Thanks Santosh! I'll review and connect with you if it looks like a fit.

reacharavindh 4 years ago |

You may consider Mendix - https://www.mendix.com

Mendix gives you the ability to go the no-code route or also the low-code route should you feel like tinkering with already available components and building on/tweaking them. They also provide a easy way to deploy them to a Mendix managed cloud.

Disclaimer: I work at Mendix on an unreleased data product.

jwiley 4 years ago | |

Thanks for mentioning. In terms of pricing I noticed Mendix lined to users. Assuming I want to offer it to lots of consumers who have the ability to login, would that count to the user total? Or is the user limit for admins?

Aakshu 4 years ago |

You should also consider DronaHQ, https://www.dronahq.com/

Once developed, app can be deployed both in mobile and as a web app. Notifications and Emails are easy to set up with ready connectors!

jwiley 4 years ago | |

Good suggestion...I haven't dug in deeply, but do you know what 'tasks' are in this case? Is that user logins, writes to DB, integration requests or?

jinen83 4 years ago | | |

DronaHQ Co-Founder here.

We are consumption based priced. We have prepackaged consumption based plans which are available. Our currency of measuring consumption of our service is 'Task'. Say any API/service call is a task & so is any BPM workflow block used while designing the system. Hope this helps.

pjmlp 4 years ago |

You could try to have a look at OutSystems, https://www.outsystems.com/p/modern-development/

jwiley 4 years ago | |

I'll check it out, thanks